The Point of No Return
by xxSoRixx
Summary: When Shion just picks up and leaves with no explanation of why or where he's going, Nezumi finds himself desperately searching for the white-haired boy and starts to realise the unexpectedly strong attachment he has towards Shion.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Standing at the top of the stairs, Shion spared one final glance at the broken down place he once considered his home. The memories of which he shared with Nezumi in that rubble immediately flashed through his mind at once, making a lump form in his throat and his chest heavy. The other man's laugh, his smile, his kindness, his unique sort of temper… His _ungodly_ beautiful grey eyes… Shion inhaled sharply, squeezed his eyes shut and stopped his mind from thinking. Remembering was only making this harder. He had already decided. He had made his resolve. He was leaving. And he wasn't going to regret this. But there was one thing that made him unable to move;

He didn't say goodbye.

But that wouldn't stop him. He knew he had to go. He _had_ to. There wasn't much time left anymore. He clenched his hands that were by his sides as his lips quivered and a teardrop trickled down his cheek. He drew in more air to calm himself.

After a minute of pause, Shion sighed and forced himself to turn away from his former-home, shutting out all the feelings that were in turmoil in his chest. It was time to go. And there was no turning back.

"I'm sorry, Nezumi," he murmured under his breath as he walked away.

* * *

><p><em>Well! This is just a prologue, really. Will upload the chapters soon. It's not really going to be a long fic. Perhaps two chapters or so, depending on the feedback I get. And... Yeah. That's about it! Reviews would be nice! xD<em>


	2. Chapter 1

"Shion?"

Nezumi's voice vibrated throughout the enclosed space, the sound deflected off the bookshelves and walls of the dim-lit room. He expected to hear the overly-cheerful boy's voice in response while he was either flipping through the pages of a book or stirring the ladle in a pot of soup. But all the response that the dark-haired man received was high-pitched squeaks of the mice inhabited in his room.

And so he tried again.

"Shion?"

There was no reply.

Nezumi's eyebrows drew together into a furrow as he slowly took off his scarf and searched the room, looking for the white hair he often saw. There was no sight of Shion anywhere. He sighed to himself. There was no reason to get worked up. It was only seven in the evening and there was a high possibility that Shion had gone to see either Rikiga or even the dog keeper.

Nezumi placed his coat onto the sofa where the other boy normally slept on and sat at the edge of it. He allowed his body to relax as he leaned back against the soft cushion. It had been a really long day for him. There were plays back-to-back as the theatre had decided they'd be closing early tonight. Apparently the producer was to have a meeting with a few rich merchants at 8 o'clock—or something of the sort. Not like this actor really cared. He was just extremely exhausted. And here he was half hoping that Shion would be at home, surprised to see him come back so early. Not that he'd admit it, but he did find the other boy's reactions rather amusing.

A smirk played on his lips at the thought. Where was Shion anyways? Nezumi straightened himself and leaned on his palms, his elbows on his knees. He gazed lazily at the lamp which burned at the centre of the table, the flames as dim and dull as ever. He stared at it for a few minutes, his fatigue slowly reducing and his senses coming back. It was only then that something caught his eye.

There, at the edge of the table, was a tiny piece of paper, neatly folded. Nezumi reached for it, half-expecting there to be an explanation of where Shion had gone—to buy groceries, to wash dogs, to go for a walk… Nezumi smiled at this, slightly amused. But when he unfolded it, the contents were nothing of which he had expected. The blood drained from his face and his eyes widened in shock, his pupils constricting. His heart immediately started to race as panic settled into him. The words written were far from an explanation. They were words of separation.

_Thank you for everything. There is something I must do so please don't look for me. –Shion._

Nezumi's hands trembled and his throat tightened. The only words he could spare to that were, "—The fuck?"

**-x****xxoooxxxoooxxxooo-**

Walking across the vast plains, Shion clutched tightly onto his backpack and felt his arms shiver due to the cold winds that blew past. He had been walking since late noon and it was already dark out now. The only light he had came from the tiny crescent of moon which hung high in the dark blue skies. He had no idea as to what time it was but then again, he had never really needed to know the time of day in the West district.

He sighed and came to a stop, knowing that there was no point in continuing as he had no bearings in the darkness. He placed his large backpack onto the ground and began to rummage through it, bringing out the supplies he needed. In a few minutes time, he had already set up a shabby-looking tent and a lamp for the night. He crawled into his shelter, bringing in some food for dinner.

Shion sat by the lamp, relaxing as he felt the warmth it emitted. He munched on the bread in his hands, as he listened to the howling from the winds outside. As for his mind, he tried hard to just think about his mission, about what he was going to do and how it would help so many people. He tried to focus, to not get distracted by constantly reminding himself why he had to do this and no one else could. He couldn't afford to lose to his feelings which wavered every time he thought of the past. But there was only one problem;

Sitting down alone like this, Shion couldn't help but remember.

He remembered how warm that rundown home was. How he would read out to the mice and children who came over. How he always had the feeling of ecstasy when a certain blue-haired man returned from work. How they would argue over silly things especially when they disagreed on something. How they would sit down together and have soup for dinner almost every other day. How the smallest things they did together meant so much to him…

He clutched onto his legs, hugging them tightly as the memories flooded through his mind… And his heart ached.

**-****xxxoooxxxoooxxxooo-**

"What do you mean Shion's gone?" Inukashi demanded.

Nezumi's face remained expressionless but his voice came out hard. "I don't know."

He was now in Inukashi's place, asking for information on the whereabouts of Shion. However, from what he had heard, it didn't seem like she knew either. His heart sank and his anxiety increased—if even the great information dealer didn't know then what was he going to do? Rikiga's presence didn't quite help to the anxiety welling up inside of him.

"Eve! You bastard," Rikiga boomed. "It must've been because you didn't take care of him properly!" The large man arose from his seat and gave an exaggerated expression of sadness. "That fragile child! He must've been starving and uncomfortable with those rags of clothes he wears every day! And even when I had already offered him to stay at me place he—"

"_Shut up_," Nezumi snapped. He wasn't going to take Rikiga's bullshit. Not ever and definitely not now. The older man gave a frown but kept his mouth shut.

"So," Inukashi said, interrupting their dispute, "when was the last time he was seen?"

"What?" Rikiga asked, confused.

Inukashi clicked her tongue in exasperation. "Shion! I mean when was the last time any of you saw Shion?"

"Mm, Shion…" Rikiga mumbled as he stroked his chin. "I saw him yesterday evening for a while but that was it…"

"Hmm…" Inukashi mused. "Eve?"

"This morning. Around nine."

"That would mean that I was the last one to see him," the girl murmured. "He came over in the late morning to wash the dogs and headed home. That was it." She paced around the room slowly as if in thought. "Which means Shion didn't say goodbye to anyone."

Nezumi gritted his teeth. This wasn't helping at all. He mentally sighed to himself and got off his seat. He reached into his jacket to take a pouch out and tossed it onto the table. Inside it was obviously many pieces of bronze money inside which shone under the light of the room. "I'm giving you a job—get information on Shion's whereabouts. Fast."

The woman stared at him for a moment, studying him, before reaching out to the pouch full of money. "Fine. I'll accept the job," she murmured. She wouldn't have admitted it, but she too was worried about that featherbrain. "I'll get my dogs to trace Shion's scent. I need something that belonged to him."

Nezumi tossed a book onto the table—Hamlet. "It wasn't his but he read it a lot." In truth, Nezumi didn't have anything belonged to Shion in his house anymore. He had realised this an hour earlier when he tried searching for a clue—for anything—that would give him an idea on where the white-haired boy was. But his efforts were in vain as Shion hadn't left anything of his own behind and even the sheet he used as a blanket was washed clean.

Inukashi picked the worn out book from the table and wrapped it in a piece of cloth. "I'll get going now. It's going to be difficult if he gets too far."

"I appreciate it," Nezumi said softly with a sincerity which rarely came from him.

"Wait! I want to help too!" Rikiga protested. "Shion! I must find that sweet, poor boy! Shion! I will—" His words were cut off when a powerful kick sent him tumbling to the ground.

"Do it of your own accord, filth," Inukashi spat as she looked down at his passed out body. "I'm off now," she said as she swung a ragged coat around her body and headed towards the door. "Nezumi," she called out as she took her first step outside. The dark-haired man looked up at her. "If you find out anything about Shion, let me know." And with that, she was gone.

Nezumi stood there, unmoving in his position as silence surrounded him with the absence of Inukashi and Rikiga's unconsciousness. The silence felt suffocating because normally, at this hour, he would be at home, talking with Shion, perhaps arguing over something insignificant, being questioned about things he'd rather not talk about and perhaps even teasing the other boy. He hated it, but during the past months of which Shion had been staying with him, he had grown attached to the albino boy. Attachment meant weakness. Weaknesses were the one thing no one should carry as long as they stayed in the West district. And yet… Here he was, practically begging for there to not be a closure between them. Also the thought that Shion was definitely never coming back made his stomach churn and it difficult for him to breathe. Nezumi couldn't take it. He wouldn't.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he then made the decision to bring Shion home no matter what. He clenched his fists and shut his eyes as he thought of the other boy. _Shion…_

**-****xxxoooxxxoooxxxooo-**

It had been a little more than a month since Shion had found the sinister lesion on his hip.

_He had just finished his shower __and was changing in the room, knowing that it wouldn't be a big deal because Nezumi hadn't returned yet and it wouldn't take much time to slip on his clothes, after all. Just as he was pulling up his trousers, he happened to get a glimpse of himself in the mirror. That was when he saw it—the lump._

_There, on his hip, was a small oval of puffed flesh, darker than the surrounding skin and flaking slightly. His stomach flipped at the sight of it, and bile rose to his throat, forcing him to swallow it down. Even though it was his first time seeing it in flesh, Shion knew what it was. He had seen pictures of it back when he lived in No.6 where he was able to get pages of information on the band he used to wear on his wrist. His mum had even told him about it and he had to learn about it once when he was in the special course… And to think that something so sinister could be described in one word;_

_Cancer. _

_Even the thought of it threw him off. No one in no.6 ever got cancer with the advanced technology they had. It was mostly unheard of in the enclosed area. Yet here he was, standing very much alive with the one thing that would eventually kill him just sitting there, right on his hip. _

_Panic started to creep its way into his chest and he stumbled onto the ground, the pace of his heartbeat immediately increasing. He started to hyperventilate and he broke out cold sweat, his mind rejecting the cruel fate reality was giving him. It wasn't true. He couldn't have cancer. He couldn't. There were so many things he was going to do—get to his mother, bake pies with her, talk to Safu, find out more about Nezumi and his past… And there so many things he had to say! So many, so many…_

_Just then, the door clicked open._

_Shion jolted from his position, his hyperventilation stopping immediately when his breath hitched. Without a second thought, he franticly pulled up his trousers to cover the lesion before turning to the door with bewildered, red eyes. Nezumi had just returned and was staring and him with a strange expression. Shion gulped as he stared back, his chest racing, hoping that the other boy hadn't seen the lump._

_Nezumi then gave a smirk. "So you really _do_ get a kick by seeing yourself naked, huh?" he teased, referring to the fact that Shion was changing in front of the mirror. However, Shion didn't reply, his mind still reeling with thoughts of the cancer cells that were probably spreading through his body even at this very moment. Seeing the boy's troubled expression, Nezumi's eyes softened. "Hey," he called out as he knelt down in front of the boy. Nezumi placed a hand on Shion's cheek gently and stroked it. "You alright?"_

_The warmth of Nezumi's hand felt oddly reassuring. The look on Nezumi's face was clearly a worried expression—something he rarely wore. The care Shion felt caused his lip quiver and his chest feel oddly warm. Nezumi was worried about him. About _him._ He ducked his head and inhaled deeply, trying his best to compose himself. The expression Nezumi had made Shion make up his mind—he wasn't going to tell Nezumi about the cancer he had found. It would only make the other man worried and after all that Nezumi had done for him, it was unfair for him to be selfish by causing the man such unpleasant emotions. So instead of sharing his pain and worries, Shion just gave Nezumi a reassuring smile and said, "I'm fine."_

**-****xxxoooxxxoooxxxooo-**

He couldn't find sleep that night.

Nezumi lay on his bed in the darkness, unable to drift off no matter what he did, the absence of Shion constantly disturbing his peace. The room was silent apart from his breathing and whenever he opened his eyes, he would always stare at the couch which was missing its usual patron. Normally, he would hear Shion's slow, steady breathing whenever he found difficulty to sleep and would follow it, breathing at the same pace and eventually finding sleep pretty easily. But now, Shion wasn't here anymore—Nezumi didn't like it. It felt unusually out of place without him.

Sighing deeply, Nezumi rolled over to face the wall and surrendered to his thoughts that revolved around Shion. Shion wouldn't have left because he was uncomfortable. Nezumi was sure of that… Or was he? He didn't know anymore. He had never even expected Shion to leave so suddenly and he couldn't think of a reason the boy would leave except for the sake of bringing back a serum to No.6. And Nezumi was sure that the boy hadn't even gotten halfway though with the serum so why else would he…?

Nezumi tried shutting out his unanswered questions and clear his mind but nothing seemed to be helping. He was thinking about Shion more than he would've liked and he couldn't stop. His chest was heavy as the memories they shared ran through his mind unwillingly.

"_Hey Shion," Nezumi called out as he lay in his bed, a book held in his hands. He was reading another literature book which had typical characters that were in love and trusted each other so much that they would entrust their lives to each other. It was while he was reading that he had the idea of asking the other boy an odd question, just to find out what reaction Shion would give._

"_Hmm?" came the reply. Shion was on the couch, playing with one of the mice—Hamlet. Or was it Cravat? Nezumi didn't particularly care._

_He gave a slight smirk and shut the book in his hands. "How much do you trust me?"_

_Shion's expression turned into surprise, as if blatantly showing that he hadn't expected such a question. "Umm…" He mumbled unsurely. "I trust you a lot." His face clearly showed confusion as he tried to figure out the reason behind Nezumi's sudden question. _

"_How much?" Nezumi repeated, his smirk widening as he turned to look into Shion's crimson red eyes. "Enough that you would entrust your entire life to me? Your entire being? Your soul?"_

_Shion steadied himself and lowered the mouse in his hands before turning to face Nezumi once more. His eyes grew hard as he stared back into Nezumi's beautiful grey ones with intense seriousness. There was no hesitance, no doubt when he replied. No insecurity. Nothing. _

"_Yes."_

_The answer took Nezumi aback, his eyes widening. He hadn't even contemplated on what Shion's answer but he had definitely not expected the boy to answer with such an intense look in his eyes. But… Nezumi felt… Oddly happy. His eyes softened and he lowered his gaze from the red eyes which were staring at him. "You're such an idiot," he murmured softly. "Only an idiot like you would ever entrust their lives to someone when living in the West district." He then rolled to face the wall, avoiding Shion's gaze and saying no more. His face was felt hot and his heart was unusually happy. He mentally slapped himself for feeling such a way from getting such an answer from the other boy._

_From the couch, Shion gazed at Nezumi's back for a moment. And he smiled._

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The loud pounding coming from his door made Nezumi break through from his thoughts and jolt up out of bed. "Who—?"

"Nezumi!" a voice yelled from behind the door. "I've found something! I think you should come see it!"

That voice… It was Inukashi.

Nezumi grabbed his coat and immediately headed for the door.

**-****xxxoooxxxoooxxxooo-**

_A week after finding out that he had cancer, Shion had done a lot of thinking and came to one conclusion—the serum had to be created as soon as possible. __Who knew how much time he had left on earth? There was no way to quite tell how fast the growth was spreading with the lack of machineries and equipment outside of the walls of the habitable districts. But it didn't matter, he told himself. He was the one person who could create an antidote to that dreaded parasitic bee disease and that was what he was going to do. So it didn't matter how long he lived. Just as long as he got to create a cure for that disease then… Then it didn't matter. Or at least, that was what he tried to convince himself._

_Death was something Shion had almost come to when his body had been a host for one of those parasitic bees. However, he was alive right now, thanks to Nezumi. So perhaps the purpose of his prolonged life was to save others from the same cruel fate he had almost gone through. He had nearly died before. So a second time shouldn't be too hard, he thought,_

_But truth was; Shion was scared. _

_He couldn't help it, after all. However, instead of succumbing himself to his fears, he drowned himself in his research of the serum and whereabouts of where he could get equipment for it. He avoided talking about the cure with Nezumi, afraid that the sharp boy would catch onto his ideas and stop him. Plus, he didn't want Nezumi to know the reason of his sudden rush to complete the serum. There was Rikiga who was trying to help him with collecting equipment, Shion knew, but from the pace the older man was going at, he knew it might not be fast enough. He needed to get the serum done—fast. _

_And thus began his secret plan of completing the antidote—without Nezumi by his side._

**-****xxxoooxxxoooxxxooo-**

Nezumi was surprised to find it was already dawn when he exited his home where he could never quite tell the time of day due to its absence of windows. What surprised him even more, however, was that Inukashi took him a mile out of the area to where there was an old shower in the middle of the empty plains. There were a few bricks located beside it, most of the crumbled or cracked. By the looks of it, this was probably the remnants of what used to be a toilet in a house many years ago. Just as he was about to question the girl on what the hell was going on here, Nezumi noticed a coat behind the bricks.

It was Shion's coat.

It looked vaguely like it at least, except for the fact it was covered in dried mud which stank horribly. Nezumi frowned at this.

"I told you to look for Shion, not his coat," he said accusingly.

Inukashi ground her teeth together. "Fuck you," she hissed. "I _was_ looking for him." She picked up the foul-smelling coat and said, "This," she said, pointing at it, "is the reason why I can't go any further." She tossed the coat back onto the ground where the rest of Shion's clothes were pilled up, all of them covered in the identical mud, and gave a sigh of defeat as she looked away from her client. "Just about half a mile from here, my dog was able to track Shion's scent till we reached a mud pile which as you can tell, stank. After that I made it track down the scent of the mud but when we reached here, there was nothing left to track Shion with."

She reached down to pet her trustful dog as she spoke, avoiding all eye-contact with Nezumi. "I'm guessing that Shion must've purposely dunked himself in that mud and come here to wash himself off to get rid of any scent on him that my dogs could track him down with. Seems like he must've gotten new clothes too," she said, referring to the pile of discarded clothes which were covered in dry mud. "This is as far as I can go," she said, a hint of bitterness in her tone. "My dogs can't track him down anymore like this." Inukashi reached into her pocket and fished out the same pouch that Nezumi had given to her the day before. "Here," she said, tossing it back to him and he caught it with no difficulty.

"What—?"

"I'm not going to accept the money since I didn't complete the job," she said quietly, a rare tone of regret present in her voice. "I don't want to get charity from a star actor." She got up from her crouched position and turned around in the direction of the West district. "I'm going to go back now. There's no point in pursuing Shion if there's no clue on which way he went." She started to walk away whilst Nezumi just remained there, standing, and staring at the pile of Shion's old clothes.

Many minutes passed by as his mind registered the information that he had just received. After a while, it finally dawned onto him that Shion was gone. And there was absolutely no way of finding him. Shion was gone. Gone for good. They weren't going to be talking to each other anymore. No more arguing, no more shared dinners, no more dancing, no more reading, no more warmth, no more time together... The realization then sank into his head and he felt a pain like he had never felt before, suffocating him, torturing him. His heart ached, his body trembled and shook. He had never felt so helpless like he did now. Not knowing what to do anymore, Nezumi sank to the ground and let out the sobs he had been repressing all along.

"Shion…!"

* * *

><p><em>And yeah… That's the first chapter! Sort of angst, huh? Well, this fic was more of an experiment more than anything because I just had this random idea in my head and all… So if you guys like it I'll continue but if not then I might just end it here because in it's own way, it <em>could_ be considered an ending… Sort of. xD Anyways! Just leave a few reviews to let me know what you all think! _


	3. Chapter 2

It had reached noon when Nezumi had finally calmed down, his emotions no longer taking a hold of him, his head on and his mind thinking rationally. He was sitting on the couch in his room, trying to figure out places where Shion could've gone to. The boy shouldn't have known that many places around the area so that just meant that Nezumi had to narrow down his options and eventually pick the mostly likely place Shion would've gone to. Nezumi wasn't going to let him go. He wasn't going to give up on Shion. He couldn't. He wouldn't.

However, he had already been sitting here for a long time but still had no clue as to where Shion would've gone to. So he tried something else—figuring out why Shion had left in the first place. Now that he had his mind rationalized, Nezumi could definitely think of no logical explanation as to why Shion would leave except for one—to create the serum for No.6. Now that he thought about it, the boy hadn't been telling him much about his plans of making the cure for those parasitic bees recently and he was sure that that must've been a factor contributing to Shion's sudden disappearance. From what Nezumi knew, there was only one person who Shion talked a lot about the serum to and that was Rikiga.

_Rikiga…_ As much as he hated the idea of trying to get anything from the man, Nezumi hated not having Shion around much more. So, casting aside his pride, he got up, took his coat, and left to visit the man he very much disliked.

**-****xxxoooxxxoooxxxooo-**

Shion was continuing his journey, the tent and other supplies already packed earlier in the morning. He walked alone through the endless plains of earth, a compass in his hand and his bag swung round his back which was covered by a bluish-grey coat he had just bought before he left for this mission.

He stopped for a moment, and his hand trailed its way to his hip, where he felt the shape of the lump beneath his trousers. His eyes darkened at the touch as he had one thought—it was still there. Not that Shion had expected it to just disappear, but sometimes… He just couldn't help but hope. Hope for a miracle to happen. Hope that he had more time. Hope that things weren't the way they were. Hope that he could see Nezumi just one last time…

Shion shook his head and laughed bitterly at himself. This was ridiculous. It was pointless to want to see his dark-haired friend anymore. He was the one who went. He was the one who chose to go. So head high, he was going to stick with his decision. With that, Shion began to walk forward once more.

He wasn't too sure how much farther his destination was—there was no easy way of calculating the miles when there wasn't even a proper road—but he wasn't going to give up till he reached it. Despite the cold and despite the loneliness that clutched his heart, Shion wasn't going to back down. This was his role in life; his one chance to do something meaningful to so many others. Perhaps if there was enough time, he'd be able to do something for Nezumi too… Nezumi… Shion missed him. It had only been a day but the thought of leaving him forever made Shion ache. However, knowing that this was probably for the best—for both Nezumi and No.6—Shion made his feelings for Nezumi his drive to move on, to move forward.

Not once, did he ever look back.

**-****xxxoooxxxoooxxxooo-**

"Eve? What're you doing here?" Rikiga asked as he looked at the dark-haired man standing in front of the door to his place. Nezumi then entered Rikiga's place without permission, walking past the older man, and sat down on the couch in Rikiga's living room. "Hey! What do you think you're—?"

"I want to ask you some questions about Shion," Nezumi stated, getting straight to the point.

"Shion? _Oh! _Did you find him? Is he safe? Is he—?"

"If he were, then I wouldn't be coming here to ask you questions about him, now would I?" Nezumi said sarcastically, cutting off Rikiga's words.

Surprisingly, the older man didn't bother lashing out at him this time. There was just a simple, "Oh…" followed by a face of disappointment. Truth be told, Nezumi was pretty disappointed about it too.

Just as Nezumi was about to ask his question, something caught his eye, causing him to stop momentarily. There, on the coffee table, lay a book titled '_Mass Spectrometry in Cancer Research_'. It mildly amused him, finding it rather comical that someone such as Rikiga, who spent time watching plays and hooking up with women would even consider getting such a book. Nezumi picked the book up and studied it for a few seconds until Rikiga created a loud outburst.

"_Ah!_" he yelled. "Don't touch that book! It belongs to Shion!"

Nezumi's eyes widened at this. _Shion's? _He looked up at Rikiga and narrowed his eyes at him. "Why would Shion's things be _here_?" he asked suspiciously.

"Shion told me to keep it for him a while back," the older man replied, scratching the back of his head.

Nezumi went silent as he stared at the book for a few moments. He shut his eyes and then finally spoke. "I see," he murmured. He took the book and slipped it into his coat. "I'll keep this and hand it to him when I find him." Rikiga was going to protest but stopped when he saw the expression on Nezumi's face. Nezumi then lifted his eyelids, his grey eyes glazed and emotionless. "Rikiga," he called; his voice hard.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Has Shion talked about anything out of sorts recently?"

"Shion, huh… Not really," he mumbled, in thought. "Ah, he did ask me to help him get a job about a few weeks ago, though."

"A job?"

"Yeah, kid mentioned that he needed some extra money so I took him to see Professor Zen. He needed an assistance to do some research and I thought Shion would've been perfect 'cause he's smart. I think Shion stopped helping him out about a week ago though."

Nezumi took this piece of information into consideration. But a job didn't really say much, really… No matter. All he needed was a change of question, then. "Do you know the details with the serum Shion wanted to make?"

"Eh? The serum?" Rikiga stroked his chin as he started to think. "I don't think Shion had even started on making it yet… I still haven't been able to get the tools he needed. It's not easy to get those things from nearby here."

_Nearby… _"So there _is_ a place where you can get them?" Nezumi questioned.

"Mm…" The older man mused. "I've heard that there's some equipment at the run down hospital where the Murian clan used to hide out at. Come to think of it, I mentioned this once to Shion but I don't think he'd go there—I never told him where it was."

"The hospital…?" Nezumi's eyes widened in realization. The hospital. He had had a conversation about that place with Shion about a month ago…

"_Hey, Nezumi."_

"_Hmm?"_

_They were both in the room, Shion writing on a notepad whilst Nezumi was fixing up one of his robot mice which needed maintenance. Nezumi didn't look up even though Shion had just called him, busy screwing on the robot's microchip. Shion tapped on the notepad with his pencil and was silent for a short moment before he continued his conversation._

"_I heard that there's an unused hospital where a clan used to stay—do you know anything about it?"_

"_That's probably the Murian clan. They used to stay in a hospital located about a hundred miles south from here. The clan's wiped out now though. Got into a conflict with some other clan about a year ago." Nezumi then looked up at Shion who was staring intently at his notepad. "Why?"_

_Immediately, Shion stopped tapping the paper and the emotion in his eyes changed to something Nezumi couldn't__ recognise__ for a brief moment. He then lifted his gaze to meet Nezumi's and gave him a cheerful smile. "Just curious!"_

Returning from his momentary flashback, Nezumi then realised something—he finally got it. It all made sense now. Or at least, vaguely. The reason why Shion left and where he had gone to were more or less resolved with his theory. Now all he had to do was find a way to catch up to Shion who had been on his journey since a day ago. Getting up from the couch, Nezumi gave Rikiga a simple word of thanks before heading towards the door.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Rikiga asked, confused by Nezumi's sudden leaving.

"I'm going to drag Shion's ass back home."

**-****xxxoooxxxoooxxxooo-**

Shion was now staring at the blood oozing out of the newly formed cut on the top of his hand. He had just tripped on a rock he hadn't noticed when he was walking; causing him to graze his arms and cut his hand on an old glass shard that had probably been buried shallow beneath the sand. The cut on his hand reminded him of that one time where Nezumi had accidentally grazed his hand. It happened when Shion was cutting up some potatoes for the soup and had accidentally slipped due to the puddle of water on the floor. Nezumi, having reaching out to catch Shion, had the knife slightly graze his hand…

"_Nezumi!" Shion called out, panicked. "Nezumi! Are you alright?"_

_The other boy rolled his eyes at his friend's tendency to over worry. "I'm fine." _

"_Let me see!" Shion demanded, reaching out for Nezumi's hand. Nezumi winced at the touch and it didn't go unnoticed by Shion. "It hurts, doesn't it?" the white-haired boy asked, his red eyes filled with anxiety. "I'm so sorry," he said with such regret that it made Nezumi look up at him with enlarged eyes. "It's all my fault…"_

_Normally, Nezumi would've insult the boy for being such a klutz, but seeing the guilt in the boy's crimson eyes made him repress it. Instead, he flicked Shion's forehead, causing the boy to flinch backwards at the sudden hit. "W-What was that for?" Shion asked, bewildered._

"_For being such a girl. Geez, Shion, I'm fine. I'll just need to disinfect the wound."_

_Shion stared at Nezumi's hand for a moment. Then, he did something unexpected; he leaned down and licked it. Nezumi flinched in shock, his eyes widening, the hairs on his neck standing and his heartbeat increasing. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" he yelled, trying his very best to keep a composed face despite feeling incredibly flustered._

"_Disinfecting it," Shion mumbled into his hand, the movement of Shion's lips tickling it slightly. _

"_That's not necessary," Nezumi snapped, but didn't withdraw his hand away from Shion's. However, Shion just ignored him and started to suck on the wound, getting rid of the blood. Nezumi's face felt flushed and it took him all of his will-power not to shove Shion into the wall to get the boy away. Once Shion had finished 'disinfecting' Nezumi's wound, Nezumi gave a sigh. "Fuck it, Shion; are you ever going to listen to me? I told you I didn't need the disinfection—"_

_Nezumi's sentence was cut off by Shion leaning in to kiss his wound._

_The difference this time though, was that Nezumi shoved him away._

"_What are you doing _now_?"_

"_Psychological tactics," Shion stated simply, not offended by Nezumi's push._

"What_?"_

"_To make your wound feel better," Shion explained. "I've read somewhere that saying that 'kissing a wound makes it feel better' is a psychological trick to make the other believe it and it gets rid of the pain temporarily."_

"_Shion, I'm not five," Nezumi said, exasperated. Then, he got up and left, getting away from the source which made his feelings go haywire. Shion would one day definitely drive him nuts._

Returning back to reality from his temporary flashback, Shion was still gazing down at the cut on his hand. The blood had already started to clot and darken on the surface of his skin. That time, he had disinfected Nezumi's wound. There was once where he had the oddest thought of Nezumi disinfecting _his_ wound one day in repayment. But now he knew that that day would never come… His bittersweet memories were still fresh in his mind; Shion brought his wound to his lips, and kissed it.

**-****xxxoooxxxoooxxxooo-**

"Ain't she a beaut?" the scrawny man said as he rubbed his dry hands together. The crooked smile on his face wasn't sinister but it wasn't quite sincere either.

_I've seen better._ Nezumi just shrugged. He was looking at one of the old jeeps that survived the destruction that had occurred years ago. There weren't many vehicles outside of the walls of the habitable districts—most of the people around were much too reliant on survival instincts to be worried about machinery like cars and such. The ones that survived were never cheap and the people living outside of the habitable districts didn't have the money to afford such luxuries. And yet here Nezumi was, being the idiot he was—or so he thought—looking for a vehicle to be able to catch up to Shion.

"Can't get 'nother one just like 'er," the man prodded on. "I'll give 'ya a good price fer 'er. 'Ya won't get a better one anywhere else."

Nezumi handed the man a large pouch of money and said nothing.

The man immediately unwound the strings that kept the pouch shut. He licked his lips at the sight of the gold and silver chips in the pouch. There was no bronze. Just highly valuable gold and silver. "'Ya a kind sir," he cackled. "But I'm 'fraid she's gonna cost 'ya a little more. 'Ya don't get cars like this no more. No sirree!"

"It's my final offer," Nezumi said, his voice menacing. "Take it or leave it." It was all the money he had. He must be crazy, he thought, giving up all his cash just for a stupid vehicle in order to look for Shion. There was probably a screw loose in his head. But even if so, Nezumi knew that he wasn't going to back down till he found the boy.

The smaller man licked his lips once more and started to study Nezumi for a moment. He flexed his fingers and gazed once more at his prized possession, as if pondering whether or not it was worth giving away.

"If you're not interested…" Nezumi drawled as he lifted the pouch of money from the scrawny man's hands.

"Wait!" the man protested immediately, snatching back the pouch. "Wait, 'ya shou'n't be hasty young lad," he cackled. "'Coz 'ya just got yerself a deal. Yessirree!"

"Glad to hear it."

And with that, Nezumi hopped into the vehicle and was off on his way to find Shion.

**-****xxxoooxxxoooxxxooo-**

Something was off.

Shion was starting to feel extremely weak and his body felt oddly hot despite the dry, cold air which surrounded him. His legs ached, probably due to the endless hours of walking, the fatigue finally catching up to him. His head ached and he found each step he took was draining him. He felt exhausted.

But… That wasn't the only thing which felt off.

Shion could feel it. The lesion on his hip which never felt like anything like an extra surface area of skin—he could feel it. It was stinging slightly even though it had never given any pain or anything before. Fear took a hold of him when he realised what was going on—it was spreading. The cancer was spreading and from what he had deduced earlier about feeling the pain, the cells must've started to press on a nerve. He knew. Shion had read about cancer so he knew; for him to have already been able to seen the cancer on the surface of his skin, it must've already spread quite far inside his body. And now it was touching his nerves… His throat tightened at the thought, his stomach starting to feel queasy. His chest instantaneously felt heavy and he found difficulty to breath. Shion was scared. He could feel his fear gnawing at his heart like a ravenous animal, consuming him and eating him alive.

What if it had already spread to his blood stream? What if it were spreading to his bone? What if it was spreading much faster than he had ever expected to? What if he was going to die tomorrow? Questions spiraled in his head as the panic and nausea took a hold of him.

_Stop it!_

Clenching his fists, Shion immediately squatted down to place his head in between his legs and began taking gulps of air to calm himself. Sweat trickled down his cheeks as he did so, his breathing slowly returning to normal after a few minutes passed by. Once he was okay again, he slapped both his cheeks to regain his senses.

This wasn't the time to be panicking, he scolded himself. There was no way he was going to die until the serum was complete. There was _no way_. He wasn't going to let it happen. Transforming his fear into his drive, Shion got up and started to walk faster towards his destination, pushing aside any other thoughts of his cancer. However, he couldn't help the thoughts at the back of his mind which kept revolving around the fear of dying.

Shion's jaw tightened in frustration.

_No! I can't be afraid now. I must go on, I must—!_

Just at that moment, Shion felt an unexpected sharp jolt run through his hip, immobilizing him and causing him to drop to the ground. His eyes widened at the sudden pain, his mind registering more shock than hurt. Then it occurred again, only this time, with a more powerful throb. Shion yelled out involuntarily and clutched his hip as his body curled itself, reacting to the pain.

_What is…? _

Shion's vision started to blur as the pain yet continued, torturing him, tormenting him. He felt like yelling out again but his voice was stuck in his throat. Tears streamed down from his eyes as he could only look out into the vast plains which started to cloud in his eyes.

_Damn it! I can't—I can't die yet—I—I—!_

Then everything was black.

**-****xxxoooxxxoooxxxooo-**

It was when an hour had passed that Nezumi started to have doubts about his speculation. He had been driving south the entire time, heading in the direction of the abandoned hospital. His speed meter was only set to forty miles per hour to make sure that he would be able to notice Shion if ever he was driving past. However, he had already gone forty miles in the past hour and there was no trace of Shion. Had Shion been able to go much further by walk? Or had Nezumi's guess been wrong about Shion heading towards the hospital? He wasn't sure anymore. Nevertheless, this was the last clue he had. The final one.

Nezumi pursed his lips in anxiety, doubts starting to settle into his heart. The resolve he had made was starting to weaken as time went by and Shion wasn't in sight. His chest felt heavy as his previous thoughts start to fill his mind. Thoughts of completely losing Shion. It was painful just thinking about it. Not like he would ever admit it, but he couldn't bare it.

_Shion… _

Was this it? Would he just go home empty-handed, no more Shion to live with him? No more Shion to give him stupid smiles in the morning, afternoon and night? No more Shion to ask him the annoying questions he hated so much? To constantly pester him over the littlest things? To worry for him? To talk to him? To cook for him? Just, no more Shion, period?

_Was he going to completely lose the only person he had ever considered to truly be his friend?_

That was when he saw it—a lump on top of the sand, just a few hundred meters away. Nezumi looked at it curiously, wondering what on earth could be there in the middle of these empty plains. Narrowing his eyes to take a closer look, Nezumi then realised it was a bag.

_A… bag?_

He drove closer to the mound, approaching it cautiously. As he neared, he realised that there was something beneath the bag, something rather sizeable. Something that looked like… a corpse.

And Nezumi's heart almost when he saw the white fluff of hair that belonged to the body beneath the bag.

_Shion. _

Instantly, he stepped hard onto the breaks and the car screeched to a halt. Nezumi jumped out of the car and frantically ran towards the body, his heart racing. "Shion!" he yelled, anxiety taking over him. _What—? _His legs ran as fast as they could, racing towards the other boy's body. _What happened to him? Why was he on the floor? Why—?_

Nezumi dropped down to the ground and held the boy's body—it felt ridiculously hot. Nezumi recoiled his fingers at the touch, surprised at the intensity of the heat Shion's body was emitting. He then quickly took off the bag from Shion's back with rapid pace and turned Shion's body to face upwards. Shion's face was flushed and he was sweating a lot. He was undoubtedly unconscious. Nezumi yelled his name over and over again and shook him, desperately trying to get the boy to wake up.

Shion didn't even stir.

**-****xxxoooxxxoooxxxooo-**

"_Nezumi," Shion called out as he looked up from the book in his hands, his eyes seemingly glazed with emotion. _

"_Hmm?"_

"_Romeo and Juliet really is a sad story."_

"_It's obviously not a story of butterflies and fairies, Shion," Nezumi scoffed._

"_But it really is sad…"_

"… _If you insist."_

"_You know what the worst part is though?"_

_Nezumi sighed. "What?" _

"_They never got the chance to say goodbye."_

* * *

><p><em>So much for it being just two chapters! The next one <em>will_be the last though so fret not. Thanks for the reviews by the way, to all of you! They gave me the motivation to continue writing. I'm glad that some of you find it intriguing. I do hope you'll all continue reading it till the end! Please do leave reviews, though. Perhaps the more reviews, the faster the update! *Cackles* xD Anyways, I do apologise for not replying the reviews yet—I've been too eager on writing this so I haven't been doing much except that! Will do so as soon as possible!_

_Oh! And just a word of explanation to some of you who are curious as to why Shion doesn't just remove the cancer on his hip—normally when cancer is already visible (as in you can see the growth), in most cases it means that it has already spread quite far inside your one's body already. Or so I've heard. I didn't elaborate much on it because I didn't want to get any of my facts wrong, so… Just in case! Anyways, with Shion being the genius he is, he would know this, in my opinion._

_That's all! I just wanted to get rid of the confusion. xD_

_Now go click on the review button! Go, go! xP_


	4. Chapter 3

Shion woke up feeling very much disoriented. When he lifted his eyelids, he saw the familiar molding ceiling he had woken up to many times before. The smell of old books that wafted in the air entered his nostrils—a nostalgic smell. Everything felt so real that he had almost forgotten about the fact that he had left this place, never planning on returning to it ever. All he felt was comfort as his entire body relaxed, thoughts of his fears and everything else dismissed. He felt at peace.

_This must be a dream._

That was what he had concluded until a voice suddenly broke through his tranquil trance.

"I see you're up." Shion knew that voice far too well. He recognised it immediately and his eyes widened. That voice was very much real.

Without thinking, Shion jerked upwards and his head spun at the sudden movement. A pair of hands was instantly by his side, carefully holding him as he shut his eyes to get rid of the dizziness. "Take it easy," the voice commanded gently. "You've been knocked out for three days—you had a fever."

Shion lightly pushed away the hands around him, and took a quick glance around—he was back in Nezumi's room. He felt confused. Wasn't he supposed to be out in those endless plains? Feeling a little panicked, Shion brought his bright crimson eyes gaze upwards, meeting a pair of liquid grey ones. Shion's eyebrows drew together and his lips curled downwards. "What—?" His voice cracked. His throat was dry. He swallowed his own spit and cleared his throat before trying again. "What am I doing here?"

Nezumi's gazed at the boy, expressionless—he had been expecting this question. He backed away from the boy, turned around, and gave one of his nonchalant smirks along with a shrug. "I just happened to be passing by someplace and I was surprised to find you passed out on the ground." His smirk widened when he returned his gaze to meet Shion's. "You should be thankful. I saved your butt."

Shion jumped out of the bed and stood facing Nezumi who had his back to him. "Just _happened_ to be passing by? What are you—? I had gone at least more than thirty miles!"

Nezumi pulled Shion by the collar in a sudden move, causing the boy to tumble forward, and then shoved him against the wall and pressed against him, Nezumi's fists crumpling the boy's collar. "Nearly _fifty_, actually," he murmured, a sharp edge in his voice, his demeanor instantly changing. "And?" he asked, glaring at the boy who stared at him with a bewildered look. "Are you going to tell me what you were doing so far away?"

Shion's words faltered at the question. After a few seconds, he averted his eyes, staring down at the ground. "I had to get somewhere…" That was when he remembered—he had gone so far for the sole purpose of fulfilling his mission and now… Now he was back to square one. Shion's lips curled as he gritted his teeth in frustration. "You had no right to bring me back here," he hissed angrily. "I had to do something—and you just brought me back here! Now I can't—"

"Make the serum?" Nezumi finished for him. Shion's eyes widened, his breathing stopped.

There was a short pause before Shion spoke again—it took time for him to compose himself from the shock. "T-That's right," he admitted as he shut his eyes, his face looking strained. "Nezumi, if you knew then… Why?" His eyebrows drew together, scrunching up his face. "Why did you bring me back here…?"

"If I left you there, you would've died," Nezumi said coldly. A cruel smirk formed on his lips. "Or what? Did you think that you'd survive? Lying out in the middle of nowhere with a fever of 39 degrees?"

"That has nothing to do with it!" Shion yelled, his eyes snapping open, his red eyes ablaze with anger. "I need to make the serum quickly!" He started to struggle, desperately pushing Nezumi away from him. "I have to go back, Nezumi, I _have to_ go—"

Shion's words were cut off when Nezumi took a hold of both Shion's hands and trapping them above Shion's head with one of his own. Nezumi pressed in closer, strengthening his stance, determined not to let Shion go. Using his other hand, Nezumi punched the wall beside Shion's head, releasing his anger. "Don't screw with me! I was worried about you!"

Shion flinched at the tone of Nezumi's voice, slightly afraid, but he didn't back down. "Stop this—Nezumi, let me go! You don't understand, I don't have much time…!"

"If it's about your equipment I've already gotten it," Nezumi said quietly, his words seething with controlled anger.

That took Shion off guard. "What?"

"Why don't you use your eyes, your majesty?" Nezumi gestured over to Shion's right, his eyes never leaving the boy's.

Shion turned his head in the direction Nezumi gestured to. He hadn't noticed it earlier, probably because he was so disorientated, but the normally empty table was filled with equipment—beakers, test tubes, needles, Bunsen burners and much more. Shion gaped at it in awe.

"Nezumi, you… You brought back the tools for me?"

"Don't flatter yourself," he scoffed. "I just had time on my hands."

Shion's eyes grew gentle and his defenses dropped, his heart feeling warm at Nezumi's kindness of which the man always denied at. He turned back to face Nezumi, those grey eyes watching him intently, emotionless. How he had missed those eyes so much… "Thank you," Shion murmured.

Nezumi didn't reply.

They both stared at each other in silence, crimson red meeting liquid grey. They stood unmoving, listening to the sounds of each others breathings, almost as if they were both just appreciating the presence of one another. It was a few moments until Nezumi used his free hand to cup Shion's left cheek and stoke the pinkish scar on the boy's skin. Shion involuntarily leaned in to the touch, feeling happy just with being here, Nezumi by his side. He never thought he'd ever see him again…

"Shion," Nezumi murmured, interrupting their little moment, and removed his hand from Shion's cheek.

Shion mumbled in response, dazed.

"Why are you in such a rush to finish the serum?"

The boy's eyes widened once more, the daze immediately gone and he averted his eyes, shifting them to face anywhere except Nezumi. Nezumi was surprised to see a hint of fear in Shion's eyes which soon disappeared, followed by a foreign look on Shion's face. "It's none of your business," Shion said, his voice filled with an unheard coldness coming from it, shocking Nezumi. He had never seen the boy respond that way to anyone. It felt like Shion was putting a wall between them, silently pushing apart the bonds that they shared, pushing Nezumi away. It wasn't normal—Shion had always been the one pulling Nezumi towards him…

Nezumi was momentarily stunned at the turn of events, but when his senses returned, he tightened his jaw in frustration and glared at the boy. "What was with the note you left me?" he yelled, further questioning Shion. "You weren't planning on coming back, were you? Were you planning to go there, make the serum and rush head on into No. 6 by yourself?" The coldness in Shion's eyes wavered. "Answer me, Shion!"

Shion shut his eyes and inhaled sharply, a troubled expression on his face. "That's right."

That only made Nezumi angrier. However, he inhaled air to calm himself slightly and lowered his tone when he spoke again. "You were never in a rush before," he said in a softer tone. "There's a reason, isn't there?"

And just like that, the cold expression returned to Shion's face. Every time he saw that face, Nezumi felt like Shion was placing an invisible barrier between them—and he didn't like it. "The reason doesn't concern you."

Fury boiling up inside of him, Nezumi used his free hand to violently yank Shion to face in his direction. "Look at me!" he demanded. He was going to find out why Shion had made such rash decisions. Nezumi was determined to find out, even if he was scared of it. Shion _will _tell him. He'll make Shion tell him. "Stop averting your eyes and look at me head on, Shion!" Shion's eyes opened and he looked at Nezumi, his gaze steely. That look on Shion's face made Nezumi's heart drop and caused his determination to weaken. There was silence between them for a few seconds which felt like an eternity. "Did you—did you hate living with me that much?"

Shion's eyes widened and his resolve weakened immensely when he saw the hurt in Nezumi's face. "No! You're wrong, I…" Shion stopped himself from continuing, his face portraying the exactly the same amount of distress that was present on Nezumi's. He pursed his lips and said no more. His heart ached. He couldn't do this. He didn't want to hurt Nezumi but… It would be worse for him to give in. So he wouldn't. Even if Nezumi ended up hating him for it, he wasn't going to give in.

Nezumi could see that. He could see that Shion was being stubborn and by the looks of it, he knew that Shion wasn't going to tell him the reason no matter what. But that didn't mean he was going to give up either, because giving up now would mean giving up on Shion forever. So he was going to keep trying—even if it meant driving Shion up the wall.

"So it was a lie, then?" Nezumi hissed, mustering the most venomous tone he could. "All those times where you smiled and said things about wanting to know more about me—were lies?"

"Nezu—"

"You regretted it, didn't you?" Nezumi gave a bitter laugh, causing shivers to go up Shion's spine. "Living; you regretted it, didn't you? You survived, only to live with a man you loathed. I bet you must've been planning to leave the entire time."

"No!" Shion protested, the hurt in his eyes deepening. He began to trash about, trying hard to get Nezumi's grip off his arms. Shion needed to hold him. Just touch his face and assure him that it wasn't true. "Nezumi—"

However, Nezumi's grip merely hardened with Shion's struggles. "You couldn't leave when you didn't have money; that's why when Rikiga gave you another job, you managed to collect enough and start planning—planning to leave."

"Stop it!"

"You planned everything from the start!" Nezumi raised his voice. "Making sure that no one would have a trace on where you were, leaving at a time no one would've suspected anything, going out of your way to make sure you got rid of your scent, even." A look of disdain washed over Nezumi's face. "It must be a joke to you that I tried so hard to look for you."

Shion's face fell, pain so blatantly visible in his eyes. "You're wrong—!"

Nezumi didn't stop. "That's the reason you left, isn't it? You just hate being with me."

_No!_ Shion struggled harder. Nezumi wasn't listening to him. He had to get free and make Nezumi listen. He had to. "I don't—!"

Nezumi's iron grip didn't even budge. "That's why you hid everything from me; details of the serum, your new job, and the true meanings behind your questions…!"

"Nezumi, please, just listen—" Shion was reaching his breaking point, the pain accumulating in his heart, making it hard for him to breathe. Nezumi was wrong. He was wrong! Shion didn't feel that way. He…!

Nezumi leaned in closer, pressing further against Shion. His eyes were serious this time, no longer filled with anger or sadness or pain.

"Mass Spectrometry in Cancer Research," Nezumi said quietly. "You were hiding that from me too, weren't you?"

And that's when Shion reached his breaking point.

Instantly, Shion's entire body froze and his blood ran cold. He felt as if the wind got knocked out of him, rendering him breathless. Any remnants of the steely look on Shion's face immediately dispersed and the walls he put up shattered. He looked at Nezumi with a face consisting of both anxiety and sadness. His heart was beating quickly; he could hear it thumping loudly in his chest. "How did you…?" His voice came out a whisper.

Pause.

"It was in Rikiga's place," Nezumi said softly, his tone was considerably lower now.

"You weren't supposed to…" Shion's body started trembling as warm droplets started to uncontrollably stream down his cheeks. His gaze dropped from Nezumi and his legs gave out, his body turning limp. Nezumi finally released Shion's hands and cautiously held the boy as he slumped down onto the floor in tears. All the emotions Shion had been bottling up for the past month came gushing out in irrepressible sobs. Nezumi sat down onto the ground and pulled Shion to lean against his shoulder as he hugged the boy, gently rubbing the boy's back. Nezumi shut his eyes and listened to Shion's cries patiently, being as gentle as humanly possible.

Many moments passed by before Shion's sobs finally died out. Nezumi was still gently stroking Shion's back as they sat there in silence.

Surprisingly, it was Shion who first broke the silence.

"I-I found out a month ago," he mumbled, his voice sounding weak and strained. He made no attempt to clear his throat and continued on. "I didn't mean to hide it from you. I was just—I was scared. And I didn't want to worry you because it hurts me to get you worked up over such a thing." Shion pursed his lips and paused.

"Nezumi," he said, his voice shaking, "I have cancer."

Nezumi's hand stopped moving but he didn't say anything. He didn't move, just resting his head against the other boy's which was placed on his shoulder, listening. When Nezumi didn't respond, Shion removed himself from the other's shoulder, causing Nezumi's hand to slowly drop off his back and cautiously looked up to gaze at Nezumi's face—it was expressionless. Shion lowered his gaze once more, bit down on his lips, then carried on talking. "It's a growth on my right hip…I-I'm so sorry for keeping it from you. I'm sorry if I worried you… I just—I wanted you to forget about me." Shion gulped down the lump in his throat. The mere talk of Nezumi forgetting about him already made him feel queasy.

"Did you really?" Nezumi asked quietly, no malice intended—he was just asking, truly curious.

Shion's face fell. "…No." He pursed his lips. "But I just thought it'd be easier for you—for both of us—if you did." Shion's eyebrows furrowed, a pained expression forming on his face. "Nezumi… I… I don't think I'm going to live for very long," he admitted gravely. Nezumi's finger twitched at this but he made no attempt to say anything. "There's no treatment for it out here. No chemotherapy or radiotherapy… The chances of me surviving it are very low." Shion swallowed thickly. "So I… I thought if I left and you eventually forgot about me, it'd be easier for us to move on. Perhaps… Perhaps I was just doing it for myself, but…" He sighed. "I don't know…" he trailed off.

There was another momentary pause between them.

"And about what you were saying earlier, you're wrong," Shion added immediately, remembering his need to clear the misunderstandings. "I never regretted living. My days living with you were the best things that had ever happened to me." The two corners of Shion's lips lifted as he fragments of his memories played in his mind. "Before I met you, I didn't really feel like my existence meant anything. When we met four years ago, it was the first time I had felt so… so… alive! For me, there was never a day that went by without me thinking about you. You're… You're the best thing that's ever happened to me…" Shion lifted his gaze to meet Nezumi's once again, his eyes strong. "I could never hate you. What makes leaving you so difficult is the fact that I…" Shion gulped. "Nezumi, the truth is that I…"

"I love you."

Nezumi's eyes widened at the sudden confession. He stared at the boy in surprise, not expecting such a thing. However, he didn't give an answer to it. Instead, he gave a smile and his liquid grey eyes gazed at Shion with such gentleness of which Shion had never seen before. "I was right," he whispered. "Your language abilities really are lower than that of a chimp."

"W-What?" Shion was confused.

Nezumi didn't reply. Silence dawned on both of them once again with Nezumi's lack of response to both his confessions, thick, heavy and full of apprehension. Shion lowered his gaze again, his mouth going dry at the suffocating awkward silence. He felt awfully nervous; he wasn't too sure how long he could take this. It was then that Nezumi drew in a deep breath before preparing himself to talk. He carefully placed a hand under Shion's chin and lifted it up so that Shion was looking at him once more. Nezumi's eyes were gentle and kind.

"Shion," he said softly in the kindest tone he had. "No matter how long you're going to live, be it a month, a week, a day or even an hour, the decision of whether or not you should be able to stay by my side lies with me." Streaks of hurt showed in his eyes. "You had _no right_ to take away the right to stay by your side from me," he chided gently. Guilt showed on Shion's face at Nezumi's words. "Even if you were to die tomorrow," Nezumi said, sadness evident in his voice even at the thought of it, "I would want to be by your side till the very last second."

Nezumi's honesty felt foreign to Shion but he didn't mind it. On the contrary, he felt more comfortable with knowing Nezumi's true thoughts. "So don't just rush off without me knowing," he murmured, his voice a plea. "Don't rush and get yourself killed. I'll help you with the serum. Just…" Shion felt his chest tighten while listening to Nezumi's real feelings. "Stay…" Nezumi pursed his lips. "Till the last second you breathe," he said as he gently placed a finger on Shion's lips, "please stay with me."

Tears started to form in Shion's eyes again as he wrapped his arms around the other boy. Hearing that Nezumi wanted to be by his side till his death bed made him feel suffocated as his death started feeling much more real to him now. To know that Nezumi would want him to stay, to be by his side even if it would cause much more pain to both of them when he left the face of this planet was unbearable. However, it also made him feel a bit better at the same time, knowing that he could be with the man he loved. Shutting his eyes, tears dripping down, Shion inhaled slowly, trying to calm himself. "Okay," he whispered, his voice rich with emotion. Nezumi lifted his arms and returned the embrace, his heart feeling warm with Shion by his side.

Their dispute now resolved, both Shion and Nezumi sat on the floor of the room embracing each other, their hearts filled with overflowing emotions and feelings. They weren't sure of what the future held in store for them, how much longer Shion would live, or even what their relationship would develop into. However, none of that mattered as they held each other close, just enjoying one another's company, even if it were not going to last for much longer. As long as they were together, here and now, that's all they needed.

And until the time came to when they had to, they would never say goodbye to each other—ever.

**~The End~**

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><p><em>Like I promise, this here is the final chapter! Filled with angst and emotions… Hmm… Well, I'm not too sure whether or not this fic was good enough for you guys. I've never actually finished a fanfic before so this already feels rather odd for me, lol! However, thank you to those of you who left kind reviews, I truly appreciate it. If you lovely readers could leave a note to let me know what you thought of this fic, it would be pretty nice. I take criticism too, as I know there are flaws in my writing. Do let me know on ways to improve if you see anything out of place.<em>

_Anyways! I had fun writing this. I hope you guys like it as much as I did writing it. xD That's all for now, though. I might just add in an epilogue sooner or later. And… That's it! Cheerios! xD_


	5. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The fated moment came a few years later on a winter night just like any other, with the skies clear and a very dark shade of blue; a perfect state to see the shine of the faraway stars that twinkled in the distance. Away from the crispy cold air of winter's atmosphere, they were both wrapped warmly with blankets in the same bed together, the one where the both of them always slept.

Nezumi had been wide awake though, not because he knew that this was the awaited day, but because for some odd reason, he just couldn't find sleep. With his sharp senses and keen hearing, he had been fully aware at the very moment Shion's heartbeat started to slow, and he had known then and there that their time together was coming to an end.

Under the covers, Nezumi made his way to grasp Shion's hand and felt its warmth, knowing that it would soon no longer emit heat. He glanced over at Shion in the darkness, and with his eyes that had grown accustomed to the dark long ago, watched his lover's face; Shion was fast asleep.

_It's for the best,_ Nezumi thought, knowing that it would be easier and much more peaceful for Shion to go when he was still asleep. But Nezumi knew he still had the choice. For the next few minutes, he probably still had the ability to wake Shion just with a mere call, as Shion was never much of a deep sleeper. However, Nezumi refrained himself, deciding that it wasn't fair to disrupt his lover from departing in tranquillity.

It didn't come as a surprise, Shion's departure. They had both been aware of Shion's depleting time on Earth and had spending each and every minute of their lives, of which they could, together. Over the past few years, Shion's cancer had gradually spread and his body had grown much weaker as well as frail. Some had mentioned that it was a miracle for Shion to have been alive even then, despite the horrible condition of his body, and although grateful for the extra time they had, Nezumi and Shion had braced themselves for the day Shion had to go. Shion had made Nezumi promise—a promise to not struggle for Shion's life when the time came for him to go—for he knew that fighting would only make things harder on Nezumi, especially when the outcome wouldn't change.

And so, true to his words, Nezumi didn't struggle as he lay in bed, despite knowing that Shion was soon gone. After all, they had already spent lots of time together, spending everyday as if it was their last, and had looked back on the many memories of which they shared together, talking about them every night before they slept. The time they had had been enough. And now, it was time for Shion to leave. Nezumi had accepted it. He had accepted it a long time ago.

_And yet…_

Suddenly, all at once, Nezumi's emotions flooded him, and despite the large amount of time they had spent together, it _didn't_ feel like it was enough at all. Not even close. Unable to restrain himself, Nezumi squeezed Shion's hand and called out.

"_Shion_."

His voice sounded so desperate. He had never heard himself sound like that before. Nezumi's heart beat faster as he felt so many things at once—the fear, the apprehension. Was it too late?

The seconds ticked by… But there was no reply.

His lips trembled as a lump formed in his throat and tears started to form in his eyes. Nezumi slowly turned his face towards the ceiling to stare blankly at it as the tears rolled down the sides of his face. Time moved slowly before he inhaled deeply and let out a large sigh to calm him down.

_I see, _he mentally thought to himself. That's what it had to have meant—Shion's conscience was already gone. He had been too late. All that's left is his lover's body, still warm, still intact.

_But Shion's mind is already…_

"Nezumi…?"

Nezumi jerked his head to face Shion and stared at his lover, his eyes wide open with shock. It was soft and weak that he almost thought that he had just imagined it, but that voice had definitely come from Shion. Shion was awake. Shion's conscience was still here. Shion hadn't _gone_ yet.

Shion's eyes were shut but his mouth was moving slowly. "What's… Wrong?" His voice sounded so weak, so weak that he seemed to have to breathe the words out.

It took several seconds for Nezumi to regain his composure, not wanting to slip up by becoming emotional and make Shion realise that his time was almost up. "Shion," he said clearer this time, his voice gentle. "Tell me something," he pleaded. He just wanted to hear Shion's voice, to cherish every last second he had with him.

"…Okay," Shion replied softly, a smile evident in his voice. Shion didn't question as to why Nezumi was doing something he rarely ever did, even though it was more bizarre that it was in the middle of the night. Whether it was because perhaps Shion already knew that these were his last moments or because Shion was too weak and tired to think, Nezumi would never know.

However, only silence followed, and panic filled in Nezumi. Had Shion fallen back asleep? That wasn't the case though, for after a pause, Shion gave a response, his sentence spoken very slowly. "What… Should I… Say?"

Relief set in Nezumi, and he let out a soft sigh. "Anything," Nezumi answered simply, giving Shion's hand a light squeeze.

Another short pause came, and this time, Nezumi knew that it was because Shion was thinking.

"…Orion," Shion breathed. "Canis Major…"

It didn't take long for Nezumi to realise that Shion was reciting the names of the constellations that they saw moments before they went to bed.

"Canis Minor…" Shion was going off about something that didn't really hold any meaning, no story or anything, but even then, just hearing his voice, Nezumi felt relaxed and he shut his eyes, treasuring the moment.

"Vela…"

Shion's voice was so soft.

"Pictor…"

So weak.

"Monoceros…"

Almost breathless.

"Eridanus…"

_Yet so, so beautiful._

Once Shion was done naming all the constellations they had seen, silence followed, and nothing except for Nezumi's breathing and Shion's slower one was heard. Salt water flowed slowly from Nezumi's eyes. From the sounds of Shion's breathing, he knew that it wasn't much longer till his lover was gone.

It came as a surprise that Shion broke the silence. Nezumi didn't think he had the energy to speak anymore but apparently he did, and thus he spoke, his voice extremely weak, yet gentle and full of emotion. "Nezumi…"

Nezumi's eyes snapped open in surprise. The hand he was holding applied pressure on his. The pressure was very light, but Nezumi instantly knew that Shion was trying to squeeze his hand. He gave a gentle squeeze back. "What is it?" he murmured softly, and patiently waited for his lover to reply.

There was a long pause until Shion managed to gather enough strength to speak again.

"… I love you," he breathed his last words.

The small pressure Shion had been applying was released and his muscles relaxed. Nezumi grasped harder, squeezing the boy's hand.

"I love you too," Nezumi's voice cracked. Nezumi could sense it—Shion's presence was already gone—and he could only hope that Shion had heard his reply.

Nezumi didn't budge from the bed though. He just shut his eyes and faced the ceiling while his hand grasped onto the remaining warmth of Shion's body. With tears rolling down the sides of his face, Nezumi lay there, listening to the sound of Shion's decelerating heartbeat as Shion's life slipped away, until it gradually came to a stop.

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><p><em>Well! I do have to apologise for the extremely long delay in posting up this epilogue. Didn't quite have the time last year and have been busy with some lessons the past few months. I wasn't actually planning to do the epilogue like this, to be honest. I was initially planning on doing an extra chapter of a bit of fluff as the epilogue and leave it at that, but from the reviews, I could tell that most of you wanted a proper ending i.e. Shion's death and therefore I decided to do this instead. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are most appreciated. Please do feel free to give constructive criticism as it will help me improve. <em>

_Oh! And also, I'll be posting up another No.6 fanfic sometime soon when I get the time to write it. Hope you'll all stay tuned for it! xD_

_Another thing, I got a review asking about the use of blood of a cancer patient to create a serum. There's actually a logical explanation for that but I didn't find it necessary to write it out in the fanfic. However, if any of you are curious and would like to know, feel free to PM me your questions and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. _

_Once again, thank you all for sticking with me through this fanfic! I really hope you liked it!_


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